David,
Most users don’t find the cut down whip distracting at all. It’s so thin you soon forget it’s there (and if you smooth the cut end you can leave the cap off the tip).
The magnets are very easy to remove by taking off the plastic cover on the base and prising them free. While you have the base off you can also cut back the co-ax to a tidy length and re-solder it in place, then after putting back the aluminium cap, carefully fill the base with hot glue or araldite to give a firm solid base for mounting - or fill it with silicone, which will also stick it to the coaming pretty effectively. (GeoffreyC)
Regards
Peter